San Bernardino County Fire OES Fire Corps Volunteer Programs

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The San Bernardino County Fire OES Fire Corps program encompasses three areas of specialization. These are CERT, ECS, and the California Volunteers Disaster Corps.

The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) Program educates people about disaster preparedness and trains them in basic response skills, such as fire safety, light search and rescue, and disaster medical operations. Using their training, CERT Members can assist others in their neighborhood or workplace following a disaster and can take a more active role in preparing their community.


The Emergency Communications Service (ECS) is a volunteer group providing front-line communications, technical and logistical support to the San Bernardino County Fire Department and Office of Emergency Services. Their primary mission is to support County Fire, County Government and other local agencies in time of disaster. In addition, ECS has provided telecommunications and event support to other County departments including Public Health, Behavioral Health, Public Works, Pre-School Services, Sheriff's SAR and other County Departments.

ECS coordinates disaster communications between city and county agencies, provides a communication link to Cal OES and ensures backup communication channels are kept open in times of a major disaster. In an average calendar year, ECS supports approximately two-dozen events and incidents throughout the County. These events range from parades and community events, to major public safety incidents including fires and floods. The 200 ECS volunteers donate an average of 9,100 hours per year to the County of San Bernardino.

ECS currently provides multiple HAM licensing classes to County Departments and the residents of San Bernardino County each year.

The Disaster Corps is a first-in-the-nation effort to professionalize, standardize and coordinate highly trained disaster volunteers statewide. This program initiative was built collaboratively in partnership with CaliforniaVolunteers from the ground up through public-private partnerships and with a wide range of subject matter experts including representatives from all levels of government, local emergency managers, state agency volunteer coordinators, and leaders in non-governmental volunteer programs.

Disaster Corps programs reside only in San Bernardino, San Francisco and Riverside Counties. San Bernardino County Disaster Corps volunteers are those volunteers participating in the volunteer programs residing within the unincorporated communities of San Bernardino County and have demonstrated commitment to their volunteer program and strive to continue developing their skills and training to better support their program and their community.

Within San Bernardino County Disaster Corps volunteers are set aside from regular CERT (Community Emergency Response Team) and ECS (Emergency Communication Services) volunteers by having the ability to be deployed throughout other areas of San Bernardino County and the state. They have received specialized training in SEMS and NIMS, plus have completed many other ICS courses and First Aid and CPR training. In addition there are additional training opportunities not offered to the regular CERT and ECS volunteers.